Image of pendant kihifern

Description:

This has become a very rare and endangered fern in a genus endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. Glenwood on the Big Island is supposed to have the largest population of Adenophorus periens, with 30 plants found in 1998. I have only found 1 plant on 3 trips in this area, during 2012-2013. In the most recent USFWS status report in 2009, only 51-123 plants are known to exist in all the Hawaiian Islands. In my limited perspective, I would venture that this species is on the brink of extinction.